The female anchor turned into the dean of an ancient academy

Chapter 166 Cen Jiexiao's unexpected discovery

Yu Lan's swimming ability is excellent, which is beyond Cen Jiexiao's imagination.

She swam like a nimble fish, weaving in and out of the turbulent waters with ease. She stayed by their side, vigilantly observing the currents and occasionally shoving aside any debris that came her way. "Dean, the current is getting stronger! Be careful!"

Cen Jiexiao's heart tightened, and she concentrated even more. She took a deep breath, and, enduring the pressure of the cold and turbulent water, she swam forward with all her might. The waterway was narrow, and the walls on both sides were rough. Gravel rolled down from time to time, and if she wasn't careful, she would be hit.

"Ah!" Xiaozhi screamed as a piece of gravel suddenly cut his arm. The bright red blood instantly dyed part of the water surface red, which looked particularly shocking in the dim water.

"Xiaozhi!" Cen Jiexiao's heart tightened, and she hurried to check Xiaozhi's injuries. Fortunately, they were only superficial, but Xiaozhi, who was timid to begin with, was now even more frightened, her face pale. Tears mixed with river water kept falling, and she sobbed non-stop. "It hurts... Dean, it hurts..."

"Why are you crying? If you cry again, I'll throw you down to feed the turtles!" Cen Jiexiao scolded in a bad mood, but her tone revealed her undisguised concern, fearing that Xiaozhi would lose her composure because of fear.

She tore a piece of cloth from her clothes, bandaged Xiaozhi's wound simply, and then put her back on her back. "Okay, it's okay, it doesn't hurt anymore."

Cen Jiexiao looked up at the road ahead, feeling anxious. This couldn't go on. The current was getting faster and faster, and the waterway was getting narrower and narrower. There was a high chance they would be swept away, which would be even more dangerous.

An idea flashed through Cen Jiexiao's mind, and she made a decisive decision. "Yulan, you take Xiaozhi and go first. I'll cover your retreat!" Cen Jiexiao said, pushing Xiaozhi towards Yulan.

"No! Dean, let's go together!" Yu Lan held Cen Jiexiao tightly, refusing to leave alone. Her tone was firm, and her eyes were full of worry and concern.

"Stop talking nonsense! If we delay any longer, we will all die here!" Cen Jiexiao shouted sternly, her tone leaving no room for questioning. She knew that now was not the time to act on her emotions, and she had to make the most advantageous decision as soon as possible.

Yu Lan bit her lip, and finally nodded, swimming forward with Xiaozhi.

The icy water slapped mercilessly against Cen Jiexiao's face, blurring her vision with splashes, but she swam forward resolutely. Yu Lan and Xiao Zhi had already disappeared at the end of the waterway, and she knew she had to get out as soon as possible, otherwise she would only become a burden to them.

"Cough, cough, cough..." Sister Cen choked on the water, the icy cold making it almost impossible to breathe. The force of the current was even stronger than she had imagined. She felt like a fallen leaf, being mercilessly swept into this dark torrent, unable to control her own fate.

Just when she was about to despair, her fingers accidentally touched something cold and hard, something that looked like a metal plate. She was moved. Could it be...?

Cen Jiexiao held her breath, dived into the water, and felt for the metal plate. In the dim light, she discovered that the metal plate was not naturally formed, but man-made, with intricate patterns carved on it, like part of some mechanism.

A glimmer of hope ignited in her heart. If she could open this mechanism, maybe she could find another way out!

She felt around the metal plate, trying various ways to open it. Finally, she found a depression and pressed hard.

With a loud "boom", the metal plate slowly rose, revealing a pitch-black passage, and water flowed in through this passage.

Cen Jiexiao was delighted. This was indeed a secret passage! She didn't know where it led to, but she had no choice.

She took a deep breath and plunged into the secret passage.

The secret passage was pitch black, and she couldn't see her hand in front of her face. The cold water carried her forward, and she could only grope her way forward by feeling.

"What on earth is this place..." Cen Jiexiao's heart was filled with confusion and uneasiness.

She didn't know how long she swam in the darkness until a faint light appeared ahead of her and she finally saw hope.

She swam hard and finally climbed onto the shore, finding herself in a spacious stone chamber. In the center of the chamber stood a long-burning lamp, its dim light illuminating the surroundings.

Cen Jiexiao looked around and was immediately stunned by the scene before her.

I saw that this stone chamber was filled with gold, silver and treasures, gold bricks and silver ingots piled up like mountains, pearls and agates were dazzling, and all kinds of treasures were dazzling.

"This...this is..."

Sister Cen was so surprised she was speechless. She had never seen so much treasure before. It was as if all the wealth of the entire Zhou Dynasty was concentrated here!

However, what really caught her attention was a stone table at the innermost part of the stone chamber. On the stone table were several sheepskin scrolls and some strange tools, with an oil lamp next to them, as if someone was working there.

Cen Jiexiao approached the stone table, picked up a parchment scroll, and examined it carefully under the light. She saw some complex patterns and symbols painted on the scroll, and some words she couldn't understand were written next to it.

"Is this... a weapon blueprint?"

Cen Jiexiao was shocked. Although she didn't understand weapon manufacturing, she could tell these blueprints were unusual. If these blueprints fell into the hands of someone with ill intentions, the consequences would be disastrous!

She put down the drawings and picked up several other scrolls to check. She found that these scrolls recorded some confidential matters about the court, including military intelligence, lists of officials, financial revenue and expenditure, etc., and even some records about the secrets of the royal family.

"Could it be... that this is some secret base?"

Cen Jiexiao's heart was in turmoil. She realized that she had accidentally discovered a shocking secret, which might be related to the fate of the entire Great Zhou Dynasty!

She forced herself to calm down and think carefully about it all.

This secret room is so hidden, it's obvious they didn't want to be discovered. So who built it? What was its purpose?

"Could it be... related to the Queen Mother? Or the Xixiang people? Could it be a base for Liaodan spies?"

Many people suddenly appeared in Cen Jiexiao's mind, people who wanted to kill her.

She recalled some rumors she had heard before. Many forces inside and outside the court were waiting for an opportunity to sabotage the sacrificial ceremony and overturn the peace treaty between Da Zhou and Xi Xiang. They had secretly sent many assassins and spies, and also secretly hidden a batch of weapons for use in sabotage!

If these rumors are true, then this secret room is likely the enemy's secret base, and these gold, silver, treasures and weapons drawings must have been prepared for terrorist attacks!

"No, I must tell the Emperor about this!"

Cen Jiexiao made a decision in her heart. She knew her current situation was extremely dangerous, but she couldn't let the Great Zhou fall into dire straits. After all, she had only taken a few steps towards her predetermined goal.

She carefully put the scroll back in its place and turned to leave when she suddenly heard light footsteps behind her.

"Who?"

Cen Jiexiao was startled and turned around suddenly, only to see a tall figure standing at the door. In the dim light, her face could not be seen clearly, but her eyes were flashing with a cold light, like a poisonous snake, which made people shudder.

"who are you?"

Cen Jiexiao asked vigilantly, while secretly tightening the dagger hidden in her sleeve.

The man did not answer, but walked towards her slowly. Every step he took brought a strong sense of oppression, as if he was a beast waiting for an opportunity, ready to tear her into pieces at any time.

"You...what do you want to do?"

Cen Jiexiao tried to remain calm, but her voice couldn't help but tremble slightly.

The man walked in front of her and finally stopped. In the dim light, Cen Jiexiao saw his face clearly - it was actually...

"It's you?!"